silver linings playbook

Today on Katie, Silver Linings Playbook cast members Robert DeNiro and Bradley Cooper joined director David O’Russell for an interview with host Katie Couric which ended up getting pretty heavy.

The film of course tackles the subject of bipolar disorder which hits very close to home for Russell and also for DeNiro. The actor got emotional when Katie asked him, “Did you feel a greater responsibility about doing a film that [director David O. Russell] had so much personally invested in?” Katie was referring to the fact that Russell’s own son has a mood disorder.

De Niro began to repsond and said, “Oh, of course, I understand what he…” It was at this point that he got too choked up to continue. Couric passed him a tissue and Cooper put his hand on DeNiro’s shoulder. “I don’t like to get emotional, but I know exactly what he goes through,” he continued, gesturing over to Russell.

It’s really interesting to learn why the director wanted to do the film and also why DeNiro became emotionally invested in his role. Watch the touching interview below.

This weekend, Mama opened in theaters and took the top spot at the box office with $28.1 million. The Guillermo del Toro-produced movie is based on Muschietti’s 2008 Spanish-language short film of the same name and stars Jessica Chastain. It looks incredibly scary. It’s a big weekend for Chastain because she also stars in Zero Dark Thirty, which was number two at the box office this weekend with $17.6 million. Since it’s opening, the film has brought in just under $56 million.

Two other films opened in theaters for wide release this weekend, but they didn’t do all that well. The first was Broken City starring Mark Wahlberg which came in fifth place with an underwhelming opening weekend of $9 million. The film is Wahlberg’s worst movie opening in years. Even worse was Arnold Schwarzenegger‘s movie comeback attempt, The Last Stand. The movie came in tenth place and only brought in $6.3 million.

Find out how the rest of the films did and which film is at almost $300 million since it opened in the Top 10 list below.

Let the official Oscar campaigning begin. Even though the race started long before today, with the nominations now revealed, the handshaking and butt kissing to Academy voters kicks into high gear. This is exactly the part Joaquin Phoenix criticized when he slammed the Oscars. Despite that dig, as predicted by him, Phoenix snagged an Oscar nod for his work in The Master. Can he parlay his “unique” campaigning to Oscar glory when the winners are announced on February 24, 2013 at the Dolby Theater in Hollywood?

Oscar host Seth Macfarlane and Emma Stone woke up extremely early today to read out the nominations for the 85th Academy Awards. Side note: Macfarlane is the first host to announce the nominations since Charlton Heston did double duty back in 1972. As widely predicted, Lincoln dominated with 12 nominations including Best Director, Best Film, Best Actor, Best Supporting Actress and Best Supporting Actor. Coming in second was Life of Pi with 11 nods. Unlike Lincoln, Life of Pi didn’t score any acting nods and their haul came mostly from the creative categories. Check out all the nominations and my commentary including snubs in all the major awards below.

It only took 23 tries, but 007 has finally found his groove. Not only has the latest James Bond flick, Skyfall, become the first in the franchise to pass the $1 billion mark, but the film might also be headed for Oscar glory. In a surprising twist, Skyfall earned a nomination from the Producers Guild for Best Film. It’s the first Bond film to be honored by the PGA in its 24-year history.

Since 2007, five winners of the Producers Guild Awards have gone on to also nab Best Picture at the Academy Awards. Last year, only three films didn’t line up with the Oscar nominees. Bridesmaids, The Ides of March and The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo were snubbed by the Academy. The year before that, the PGAs were only off by one with The Town losing a spot to the Academy’s choice of Winter’s Bone. Better dust off that tuxedo Daniel Craig, you might be headed to the big event this year.

The Producers Guild Awards ceremony, which will be produced by Michael De Luca, will take place on Jan. 26. Check out all the films nominated this year below.

Not only did the Hollywood Foreign Press Association debut thefirst promo for the 70th Golden Globes featuring Tina Fey and Amy Poehler, but they also revealed their nominations. Leading the pack with seven nods is Steven Spielberg’s Lincoln. Not surprising, given all the other Oscar precursor love. On the flip side, Quentin Tarantino’s Django Unchainedshockingly earned five nominations including one for Leonardo DiCaprio.

If you think about it, DiCaprio along with a few other out of left field nods aren’t too earth-shattering given that the HFPA have a reputation of being HUGE star f*ckers. They love to honor A-list celebs in hopes that they’ll attend, making their event the most star-studded one of the awards season.

On the TV front, the HFPA have a couple of head-scratchers as well. Mad Men for the first time isn’t nominated but NBC’s polarizing Smash is. Granted they’re competing in different categories, but still. The Debra Messing musical beat out Parks & Recreations,Suburgatory, Community and a whole whackload of other worthy sitcoms. Fans of ABC’s Nashville will be elated that both Hayden Panettiere and Connie Britton were recognized. While Modern Family dominates the Emmys, only Sofia Vergara and Eric Stonestreet earned nominations in the acting categories.

Without further ado, check out all of the 2013 Golden Globe nominations below which were revealed by presenters Jessica Alba, Megan Fox and Ed Helms this morning. You’ll also find my commentary for most of the major movie categories and how they differ from the recently announced SAG nominations. Be sure to leave your comments afterward. I would to hear your thoughts on the HFPA’s nods.

If there is one Oscar precursor that is the most reliable, it’s hands down the Screen Actors Guild Awards (SAGs). The acting guild represents the biggest voting block at the Academy Awards. Bar none when it comes to the acting categories the SAGs have the best record in recent years. If you’re planning to enter your Oscar office pool, I highly recommend you take note of the nominees and winners from this particular group. The SAGs honor outstanding work in both film and television. Since it’s all about the Oscars, I’m only focusing on the movie nominations.

While they don’t have a Best Picture category, they have an Outstanding Performance by a Cast as their big prize. What’s notable with the nominees in this category is the omission ofZero Dark Thirty. Long thought as an Oscar frontrunner for Best Picture, it’s snub have a few pundits scratching their heads. That isn’t the only surprise with the 2013 nominations. Check them all out below with my commentary for all the movie acting categories.

At the beginning of the awards season, Kathryn Bigelow’sZero Dark Thirty looked unstoppable. With Lincoln leading the pack with 13 nominations at the 2013 Critics Choice Movie Awards, it’s looking like a two horse race for the Best Picture Oscar. The Steven Spielberg film earned CCMA nods for Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor (Daniel Day-Lewis), Best Supporting Actor (Tommy Lee Jones) and Best Supporting Actress (Sally Field) to name a few.

Also scoring multiple noms is Jennifer Lawrence. The 22-year-old actress has four chances to win an award when the winners are announced on The CW on Thursday, January 10, 2013. She’s in the running for Best Actress, Best Actress in a Comedy, and Best Ensemble for The Silver Linings Playbook, as well as Best Actress in an Action Movie for The Hunger Games. Her Silver Linings Playbook co-star Bradley Cooper was also recognized.

Out of all the nominations, the one I’m most excited for is Naomi Watts finally getting some love for her amazing work in The Impossible. I attended an early screening of the flick and was blown away. It’s her movie along with Tom Holland’s breakthrough performance. That kid is EVERYTHING in the tsunami flick. Holland as well received some love from the Critics Choice Movie Awards. Check out all the nominees below.

Another day, another Oscar precursor. This time it’s the American Film Institute’s turn. Unlike the previous awards, the AFI doesn’t pick one winner. Rather the group of critics, scholars, film artists and those in television pick the Top 10 in both cinema and on the small screen. All ten winners in each respective category will be honored at an invitation-only luncheon on Friday, January 11, 2013 in Los Angeles.

In the film category, you have your core group of movies dominating early critics awards. Steven Spielberg’s Lincoln and Kathryn Bigelow’s Zero Dark Thirty once again are honored. Joining the Oscar Best Picture race is Christopher Nolan’s final Batman film The Dark Knight Rises. I believe it’s the first nod the superhero flick has earned at a major Academy Awards precursor.

The biggest snub, IMHO, is Paul Thomas Anderson’sThe Master. The Joaquin Phoenix and Phillip Seymour Hoffman film recently nabbed Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor and Best Supporting Actress from the Los Angeles Film Critics. Sadly for them, the film was ignored by the AFI. Check out what else made the AFI’s list of Best 10 films of 2012, along with the cream of the crop on television.